Rectangular Wheel Stitch Afghan (progress)

Progress at 6 rounds: approximately 12 x 36 inches

I'm attempting to crochet an afghan in the round, but achieve a rectangular finished product. In my last post, the foundation round was twice as long as the length (approximately 2 x 4 inches). By the 5th round, the measurement was 8 x 10 inches, still 2 inches different between the width and the length. If I had continued to completion, the finished product would still have the short side 2 inches shorter than the long side. This is not what I had in mind.

A good online friend reminded me that in this type of project (working in the round), as you increase the rounds, the length grows at the same rate as the width, so if, at the beginning, the width is 2 inches shorter than the length, after x number of rounds, the width will still be 2 inches shorter than the length, which is not what I intended.

When working a project in the round, to insure the proper aspect ration, that is width to length, you have to know the desired measurements at the end of the project to enable you to start with the proper sized foundation round. Subtracting the width (short measurement) from the length (long measurement) will give you the proper size of the foundation round.

I sat on my couch with a measuring tape across my lap and decided I wanted the width of the afghan to be approximately 30 inches and the length to be approximately 60 inches, so subtracting the width from the length gave me 30 inches. I started with a foundation round of 30 inches. Since the width was only 2 inches, the start of the project looked more like a strip or scarf than an afghan. As you can see by the picture above, the piece is beginning to look more like I intended, with the current measurements approximately 12 x 36 inches.

OK! I know! The difference now is only 24 inches instead of 28 inches. But after 6 rounds it's starting to look more like what I wanted than the previous attempt.

My next post will have the instructions, and some more verbiage about how to start if your desired finished product isn't what I had in mind for my finished product.

Wheel Stitch Afghan

·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> U P D A T E <º)))><¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·

I'm working on an update to this after realizing that, since the width increases at the same speed as the length, you'll end up with almost a square if the piece gets anywhere near the size of a normal afghan. Of course, this might work well for a lapghan...

·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸><(((º> U P D A T E <º)))><¸¸.·´¯`·.¸.·

I found a really nice-looking afghan online based on the wheel stitch, but the afghan was square. I made one in baby size for a present, which you can see in a previous post here.

In some cases, a square afghan or blanket is just what you need, but there are times you want a rectangular one, right?. I liked the wheel stitch, so I decided to write out a pattern for a rectangular afghan using this stitch. I haven't completed the afghan yet, but I will share my progress as it goes along.

Here's what I've come up with so far with some pictures to help you along the way:

Wheel Stitch Afghan
© 2009 Gene Saunders, a.k.a. CrochetDad
Do not redistribute without permission. You may post a link to this article, but don't copy it and call it your own. Thanks!

For yarn, I'm using Red Heart Super Saver in several colors (actually, I'm starting with the left-over yarn from the Baby Blanket I made. The colors are six shades of blue, white, buff and burgundy. You can make this afghan with as little as one color - I'll tell you later how to use only one color without cutting the yarn...

Hook size will depend on the yarn you use and how tight or loose you want the stitches to look.

Notes:

• The afghan is worked in rounds, don't turn unless instructed.
• The finished size is up to you - just keep going until it's the right size
  
• Instructions are in US crochet terms
• These are not instructions on how to crochet
• It is assumed you have basic crochet knowledge

Abbreviations:

ch = chain
sl st = slip stitch
trc = treble crochet
bptrc = back post treble crochet

Afghan:
Rnd 1: This is the foundation round - ch 12, 7 trc in 4th ch from hook, sk 4 ch, sl st in next ch, sk 4 ch,15 trc shell in next ch, sl st in same st as last sl st, 7 trc in same st as first 7 trc shell, sl st in last ch (top of first shell, finish off.

Note: If you're doing a single color version, don't finish off - just keep going

You should have something like this:



Rnd 2: This round is the first half of the wheel stitch. It takes two rounds to complete the stitch.

(Note: If you are doing this in one color, sl st in next 3 sts, then continue with the next ch 3)

Change color, join yarn in top of first trc, ch 3, [yo twice, bptrc in next st, reserving last loop on hook] 4 times, (5 loops on hook) yo and pull through all loops, ch 1 (CornerCluster made). The ch 1 will be referred to later as the “shell anchor” later. Here's what you should have:



Now ch 3, and sl st under loops of current st and next st, like this:



ch 3, [yo twice, bptrc in next st, reserving last loop on hook] 6 times, yo and pull through all loops on hook, ch 1 (SideCluster made) (again, the ch 1 is the "shell anchor" for the next round). Here's what mine looks like at this point:



Now do a ch 3, CornerCluster, ch 3, sl st as before under the loops of the current and next st, ch 3, another SideCluster, ch 3, sl st as before, ch 3, CornerCluster, ch 3, join with a sl st to those two loops as before and you should have something like this at the end of Rnd 2:



Rnd 3:

This is the second half of the Wheel Stitch and you'll be staying with the same color as round 2.

10 bptrc in shell anchor (remember, it's the anchor stitch of the previous round's CornerCluster), sl st in next st (CornerShell made).



6 bptrc in shell next shell anchor (SideShell made). Continue around doing CornerShell in the shell anchor in the corners and SideShell in the shell anchor along the side.
..

..
Continue by repeating Rnd 2 and Rnd 3 with color changes on even rounds.

Beginning of Rnd 4:


SideCluster on Rnd 4:



Completed Rnd 4:



Completed Rnd 5:



Here's what I have so far:



When I get further along, I'll show you how I do the border (we'll end with an even round).

If you're having trouble, please post your comment and I'll try to help.

San Diego County Fair Entries

I'm entering some of my crochet items in the San Diego County Fair again. Here's a slideshow of my entries:

9-pointed Popcorn Round Ripple Afghan Pattern

I've been active on Crochetville for a few months now, joined a few CALs (Crochetalongs to the uninitiated). One of the CALs was for making Round Ripples, which are easier than they look. Anyway, after making a few RRs, I wanted something different, so I designed my own version. It was received very well by the members of Crochetville and it was requested I write down how I did it. The result is my very first attempt at selling at crochet pattern.

You can see the the afghan (and buy the pattern) at my Etsy Store. The pattern is the only thing there as I write this, but if it goes well, I intend to add more items for sale soon.